During Infant Safe Sleep Awareness Month in October, Ascension Sacred Heart is reminding parents, grandparents and caregivers that consistent safe sleep practices can help reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths.
Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola and Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach have achieved Gold-level certification through the Cribs for Kids® National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. The certification recognizes hospitals for their commitment to infant safe sleep education and practices.
At Studer Family Children’s Hospital, safe sleep education is part of the hospital’s commitment to helping families reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant death, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, and other unsafe sleep injuries.
Remember the ABCs of safe sleep
Parents and caregivers can begin with three important steps for every nap and nighttime sleep:
- Alone: Babies should sleep in their own separate sleep space.
- Back: Place your baby on their back at the beginning of every sleep.
- Crib: Use a safety-approved crib, bassinet or play yard with a firm, flat sleep surface and only a fitted sheet.
Keep loose blankets, pillows, crib bumpers, wedges, toys, stuffed animals and other soft objects out of the sleep space. Studer Family Children’s Hospital’s safe sleep guidance recommends an empty crib and a firm sleep surface for every sleep.
Parents and caregivers can share a room with their baby without sharing a bed. Keeping the baby’s crib, bassinet or play yard nearby can make feeding, comforting and monitoring easier while providing the baby with a separate place to sleep.
Back for every sleep
Babies should be placed on their backs at the beginning of every sleep, including naps and nighttime.
Once a baby can roll independently from back to stomach and stomach to back, caregivers do not need to reposition them. Continue placing the baby on their back when putting them down to sleep and keep the sleep space clear.
More ways to support safer sleep
Breastfeeding or feeding human milk is associated with a reduced risk of sleep-related infant death. Offering a pacifier at naptime and bedtime may also help reduce the risk of SIDS. If breastfeeding, wait until breastfeeding is well established before introducing a pacifier.
Never attach a pacifier to clothing, blankets, strings or stuffed toys while a baby sleeps.
Families should also keep their baby’s home, car and surroundings smoke- and vape-free and ask grandparents, babysitters and other caregivers to follow the same safe sleep practices.
If a baby falls asleep in a car seat, stroller, swing or other sitting device, move the baby to an appropriate firm, flat sleep surface when it is safe to do so. Sitting devices are not intended for routine infant sleep.
Parents should also avoid overheating their baby during sleep and keep weighted blankets, weighted sleep clothing, pillows, wedges and other unnecessary products out of the baby’s sleep space.
Every sleep counts
Safe sleep practices should be followed during every nap and every nighttime sleep, whether a baby is at home, traveling or staying with another caregiver.
For families along the Gulf Coast, safe sleep education is also part of a broader continuum of maternity and newborn care. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast provides maternity care, breastfeeding support and a Level II NICU, with neonatal transport available to the Level III NICU at Studer Family Children’s Hospital when a higher level of care is needed.
Safe sleep resources for parents and caregivers
Learn more about creating a safer sleep environment for your baby through Ascension Safe Sleep Resources.
Families can also learn more about maternity and newborn care at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Family Birth Place and pediatric services at Studer Family Children’s Hospital.
Explore maternity and newborn care at:
- Ascension Sacred Heart Maternity and Women's Health
- Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Family Birth Place
Find a pediatrician near you: StuderFamilyChildrensHospital.com
